Anyone been reading about the 16 year old mother who smothered her 11month old son? Another senseless tragedy. Parents need to remain calm when their nerves start to fray with a young child who will not stop crying. Very sad especially at this time of year.

This is sad - makes me very sad I wish that mom's and dad's knew that help is just a phone call away and not be scared to admit that they can't handle their babies crying any longer. It's a hard thing to admit - but it happens to us all. Or just put the baby in the crib and walk out and make a phone call - sooo sad! My prayers will be with all moms & dads struggling - may they find the courage and strength they need to get the help they may need!

This truly breaks my heart. That baby did not deserve this, the girl was overwhelmed I am sure, but my gosh, where was the support she needed? All I can think of is my grandson...my own kids, we all have had a night of endless crying , ceaseless tantrums ect...I am sure. But I would never do something like this. One more little angel in heaven, god bless that child.

After giving this some thought, if she was 16 and the baby was 11 months, then she must have been 15 when she gave birth, right? It is inexcusable that any family would allow such a young child to first of all give birth and second of all keep this poor child. I am not a proponent of abortion, but i do believe that there are very good circumstances where it can a last resort. (Obviously this kid never heard of the FIRST resort!) But even if the family allowed her to go through the trauma of giving birth (a body that young is NOT equiped to go through that) then at least give the poor baby a chance for a good life by placing it up for adoption with a family that could love and provide for him. What is the matter with people?? Why was this situation even allowed to happen in the first place? Sorry -- this has really hit me hard for some reason.

i had my first son at 19--yes it was hard and i had my up and downs but i had my family as a strong support group and they helped me with what they could. I now have him (5 years old and so handsome) and another son who is 18 months (hes the devil in disguise) I married their father (while I was pregnant with my 2nd son). I know its not the right way to go about it, I feel for the mother (meaning its hard to deal with) but on the other hand there are so many options for help. I don't know the family situation and whatnot...but she seemed overwhelmed and this doesnt justify for what she did and i hope she pays for it. She should have given him up for adoption at least, let someone who cant have and wants a baby raise the baby. He must have been crying for a reason..and she really had to be holding her hand over his mouth...at 11 months kids are feisty...maybe he was in pain or wet or sick...so many other ways to deal with things. It bothers me knowing what joy it is to have kids and my 5 year old is so witty and wise makes me smile. I almost lost my baby at birth and almost lost myself. Alot of problems but im good now. And so is he...i would be in 1 north if i lost either of my babies and i seriously have a tear in my eye...god bless the children

There is no way a 15 yr old should first of all be having sex, second of all having sex without protection, thirdly be raising a child. Yes, i blame the family. If there had been control and discipline in the first place this situation would not have set itself up for disaster. If not the family, then this kid must have had a dr or other health care professional who could have steered her in the right direction if the family was too dumb to understand what was best for the infant -- a tiny human life with no defenses and no way to protect itself from this insanity. Many many people allowed this baby to fall through the cracks. They all need to take the blame.

Some may not feel this fits,but this is exactly one of the biggest reasons that I am pro choice as far as abortions go. There is a stigma attached to people who give away their children, where most abortions are quiet and secret. This girl was a child herself. What a shame.

a tiny human life with no defenses and no way to protect itself from this insanity.

What you are saying here is true. However, I do not agree with many of your points. Had this tiny human life been aborted, it never would have had the chance to live at all. Parents do not always know what their children are up to. You can teach your child what is right, but they have to be able to make their own decisions. Parents will not always be with the children when certain situations arise. The parents have to hope that their child has listened and learned from what they have been told. I will agree that adoption would probably have been the best thing for this child, but I don't know all of the circumstances either. How do we know that this girl chose to get pregnant? Maybe she was raped. There is a lot that could have played into this scenario, we just don't know. I understand that your responses were immediate and that immediate responses often come with hostility when a life has been lost. I am often guilty of that too, but I am sure that there is much more to this story that may or may not come out. I was just trying to point out that maybe abortion is not always the right answer. I know MANY couples who would have adopted and cared for a baby that was unexpected to a teenaged girl. Many people cannot have babies of their own and by acts of God, these other people do have them without being able to care for them. Unfortunately, this family has to live with this the rest of their lives. There were some very poor choices made, but you can't put most of the blame on the family. The family didn't kill the baby, the mother did.

Quote:Some may not feel this fits,but this is exactly one of the biggest reasons that I am pro choice as far as abortions go. There is a stigma attached to people who give away their children, where most abortions are quite and secret. This girl was a child herself. What a shame.

I agree here too Bostonian. I am pro-choice as well. I, myself, could never have an abortion- but I do understand that there are circumstances where the mother should be given the choice. I just don't feel that people should be forced to have an abortion. I guess that is what I was trying to get across in my previous post.